X
CNET logo Why You Can Trust CNET

Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement

Amazon tries again with 99-cent Lady Gaga album

The over-the-top pop star "definitely melted some servers" on the first go-round on Monday, Amazon says. "This time we're ready."

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
See full bio
Don Reisinger
2 min read
Amazon is selling Lady Gaga's new album for 99 cents again.
Amazon is selling Lady Gaga's new album for 99 cents again. Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET

After facing some troubles the first time around, Amazon today is again selling Lady Gaga's new "Born This Way" album for just 99 cents.

The deal is available only for the MP3 version of the pop star's latest album, which hit store shelves on Monday. In addition to getting the album for less than a dollar, consumers will also receive 20GB of free storage in Amazon's Cloud Drive, which allows users to stream music over the Web to a PC, Mac, or Android-based device.

Amazon had originally offered that 99-cent promotion to customers Monday. But not long after users started buying the tracks, Amazon faced huge demand and servers started to crash. Many customers saw inordinately long download times for the album, forcing Amazon to post a page on how to address the issue. The company also thanked users for their "patience."

"Clearly customers are really excited for Lady Gaga's new album--we saw extraordinary response to Monday's promotion--far above what we expected--she definitely melted some servers," Craig Pape, director of music for Amazon, said in a statement today. "So we're doing it again, and this time we're ready."

Amazon isn't the only tech company piggybacking on Lady Gaga's star power.

Google recently unveiled a new Chrome browser commercial featuring Lady Gaga. The ad showed the artist, as well as her fans, called "Little Monsters," using many Google services. That ad has seemingly caught on with Web users. As of this writing, the video has been viewed nearly 1.1 million times on YouTube. On Monday, its views were less than half that.

Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" is currently the bestselling album on iTunes and Amazon's MP3 store.